Terminally ill sailor in tears during storm winds on challenge

A terminally ill 26-year-old woman from East Sussex who is sailing solo around the British Isles has said a “horrific week of bad weather” left her “crying for hours”.

Jazz Turner, an engineer from Seaford, has Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, a debilitating genetic condition that affects connective tissue and means Ms Turner uses a wheelchair.

She left Brighton Marina on 2 June and hopes to complete the 2,070 mile (3,331km) trip within four to eight weeks.

Speaking from Petershead on the east coast of Scotland she described the last 24 hours as being “battering” but also “rather thrilling”.

Ms Turner said the wind speed on day 24 of her challenge on Monday had reached gusts of over 34 mph.

Posting on Instagram she said: “It made for some quite exciting but rather battering sailing.

“Secretly I was loving it.”

She added: “It’s calmed down a little this morning, so today’s focus is on resting my body.

“Everything is wet and damp and I am very fed up of it raining.”

Ms Turner has already sailed around Cornwall, Ireland and up to Shetland in northern Scotland.

She was diagnosed with her illness, which causes fainting and seizures, when she was 18.

Due to complications, doctors have told her that her condition is now terminal.

Ms Turner is raising money for Sailability, a charity that enables people with disabilities or who come from a difficult background to get into sailing.

She surpassed her fundraising target of £30,000 within two weeks of the challenge and is now hoping to raise than £50,000.